A Step Up
by TessaStarDean
Summary: FlackStella. Flack ups his flirting. Not sure there's a real plot, but it was fun to write anyways.
1. Pink

Flack leaned back in his chair, staring at Stella. She sat hunched over her desk, her dark curls hiding her face as she once again went over the evidence that they had. Don knew that he was supposed to be doing the same, but sitting right next to her was proving too big of a distraction. He let his eyes focus on her hair, on the tight curls and the streaks of lighter brown he knew to be natural. Once again, his fingers itched to touch it, to know what it felt like to run his hands through it from root to tip. Finally, he couldn't resist it any longer. Reaching out, he took a hold of one of the curls, rubbing it gently.

"You should let your hair grow out again," he said quietly.

She turned to look at him, startled by the sudden contact. "What?"

"Your hair," he repeated. "I liked it long."

A smile crept onto her face as she turned back to her work. "Did you?"

Flack watched her carefully, seeing the pink tinge that slowly made its way up her neck and onto her cheeks. Chuckling, he tucked her hair behind her ear, his heart rate speeding up when he felt her shiver as his fingers brushed against her neck.

"You're blushing," he murmured.

She didn't meet his eyes, but the smile stayed on her face. "I am not."

"You are."

Looking up, she stared at him for a moment, the blush all over her face now. "Yeah, well, you're flirting."

"I know."

The answer left Stella flabbergasted. She opened her mouth to say something back, but words eluded her until she just sighed and pointed to the files on the desk.

"We have a case to work on."

As they both turned back to their work, Don stole another glance. Stella may have effectively ended the conversation, but she was still blushing - and still wearing a grin.


	2. Candy

"Stella," Mac greeted as he stepped up beside her at the crime scene.

She looked up, smiling at him. "Hi."

They got to work, examining the dead body that lay on the steps of the Museum of Natural History, finding trace evidence and securing it. Their routine was quick and efficient, and it wasn't too long until Stella was packing up her kit and preparing to go back to the lab so that they could examine what they had found more thoroughly.

"You headed back?" she asked Mac.

"Yeah." He frowned as he continued to stare at her, his eyes seemingly searching for something.

"Is something wrong?" Stella finally asked, unconsciously fidgeting under his heavy gaze.

Finally, Mac gave her a small smile. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just...are you growing your hair back out?"

The blush was immediate, and there wasn't anything Stella could do about it. Looking away, she tucked a strand behind her ear and smiled. "Yeah. I decided to try it long again."

Mac knew there had to be something else behind it, but decided to let it drop for the moment. "It looks good."

As he turned and walked back to the car, Stella rolled her eyes and silently cursed Flack - but she still couldn't get the smile off of her face.

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"Hey."

Stella glanced up, smiling when she saw Flack walking into the lab. "Hey, yourself. You're not working this case."

He shrugged, leaning his arms on the table as he stood next to her. "I was gettin' results from Monroe. Decided to come see you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm touched."

"What are you workin' on?"

"Dead body over at the museum. And this milky white substance was on the vic's pants."

Flack frowned. "Is it...?"

Stella laughed. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Believe me, that was the very first thing I tested for."

"'Cause it sure looks like it..." He shook his head in disgust.

"Don't tell me there's actually something that still grosses you out on this job?"

"Hey, not all of us are desensitized like you." Stella gave him a hard glare and he held up his hands, laughing. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean that."

"Don't you have work to do somewhere? Maybe in _your _building?"

"Ouch. You don't play very nice, Bonasera."

She smiled. "You know you like it."

"And here I was, comin' over here to see if you wanted to grab lunch with me and Messer...but no, I'll just go back to _my_ building..."

"Actually, lunch sounds really good."

"Oh, so now you suddenly wanna go?"

Stella smiled, packing up the evidence and resealing it. Then she walked over to the rack and shed her lab coat, hanging it up next to the others. Turning back around, she saw Flack staring at her.

"You okay?"

He shook himself, as though he'd been lost in his thoughts. "Sorry." He smiled at her and turned to hold the door open for her. "You look really pretty today," he said quietly.

Stella was sure she hadn't blushed this much since she was fifteen.

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"You been eatin' an awful lot of those lately, Stell," Flack commented as they walked down the hall.

She frowned as she opened a package of Smarties. "I've been craving them lately. Not sure why. I haven't had them since I was a kid."

He raised an eyebrow. "You know what cravings are usually a symptom of..."

Stella elbowed him in the side. "I'd have to be having sex to be pregnant, Flack."

"I can't imagine you have a hard time finding partners, Stell."

She raised her own eyebrow, a thrill rushing through her as their flirting hit a more personal level. "Are you fishing for information, Detective?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Liar."

"But I'm cute."

"You're fishing again."

"Are you sayin' I'm not cute?"

"I have to get back to work," she said, turning toward her office. As she reached the door, she looked back over her shoulder with a smile. "And Don? I believe the word is 'hot.'"

This time it was Flack who blushed.

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Stella sighed as she trudged up to her office. Her day had begun early, with Mac waking her up and dragging her out to a crime scene on her day off. From there, it had only gotten worse, with mutilated bodies and dumpster searches, and then a sudden afternoon thunderstorm just to cap it all off. She was wet, and frustrated, and the only thing she wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

As she went to open her door, something taped to the wood caught her eye. Frowning, she pulled it down, staring at the package of Smarties in confusion. A note was wrapped around the package, and she slowly undid it so she could read the cramped handwriting.

_For all those cravings. Sorry you had a rough day._

_-Flack_

She was smiling before she even realized it. Walking into her office, she started to eat the candies. savoring them as they melted on her tongue. Sugar had been just what she needed, and she made a mental note to thank Flack the next time she saw him.

Dropping her purse into her chair, she started to pack up her things; she was anxious to get home, and now that the rain had stopped, she was thinking that it would be a nice evening to walk. But as she reached for her coat, something caught her eye and made her stop, a huge smile blooming on her face.

Spelled out in Smarties, Don had left her a message.

_Dinner? _


	3. Lovers

It took Stella a minute to remember where she knew the woman from. But eventually it came back to her, and she tried not to sigh as she realized that she was dealing with one of Flack's ex-girlfriends. Devon was busy ranting and raving about the crime she had witnessed - unfortunately, she seemed to only care about the inconvenience it had caused _her_ and not about the victim who was lying on the street with a bullet hole in his forehead.

The detective was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice when Devon stopped talking and just stared at her. When she did finally realize that the incessant rambling had stopped, she frowned at the woman.

"Are you okay?"

Devon frowned. "I know you."

Stella sighed. "Yeah. I was on the case when your place got broken into a couple years -"

"No," the socialite cut her off. "It's something else." She continued to stare until realization dawned on her face, and she snapped her fingers. "I've seen you with Don! _That's_ where I know you from! You're his new girlfriend!" Stella opened her mouth to respond, though she had no idea what she could possibly say, but Devon cut her off again. Hands on her hips, the petite redhead arched her eyebrow. "Don't think that makes you special. Don has plenty of lovers on his belt. One more isn't going to rock his world."

Forcing herself to remain calm, Stella inwardly vowed to punch Flack for dating such insufferable women in his past. Glancing back down at her notebook, she finished her comments on what Devon had witnessed.

"Charming," she muttered.

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"Dinner was really good," Flack commented as he brought the last of the dishes to the kitchen.

Stella stood over the sink, washing up the dishes and setting them on the rack to dry. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a small smile. "I'm glad you liked it."

He came up behind her, resting his hands on her hips and setting his chin on her shoulder. "Something's bothering you," he said quietly.

"I'm fine."

"Don't," he whispered, squeezing her hips lightly.

Stella sighed, her hands stilling in the water. "For once, could you just not know me as well as you do?"

"But I like knowing you," he murmured. She smiled at that, and Don decided to push it a little further. "Rough case?"

She shook her head. "Not really. An enraged husband walked up to his wife's lover and shot him in the head. Open and shut."

Flack slid his hands down her arms until his fingers tangled with hers under the water. "Then what's wrong?"

She knew that she could still deny that anything was bothering her, but truth be told, Stella _wanted_ to tell Don. They were always honest with each other, and she had gotten used to going to him when something was on her mind - he was the one person that could always put her at ease, no matter what was wrong.

"One of your ex-girlfriends was a witness."

Don sighed and closed his eyes. "Which one?"

"Devon."

He took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Did she say anything to you?"

Stella nodded. "She recognized me."

"From a case?"

"No. Apparently she's seen us out together. She knows we're together."

"What did she say, Stell?"

She kept her eyes focused on the water. "Basically? That I shouldn't think too highly of myself because I'm just another notch in your belt."

And there it was. Flack suddenly saw the insecurities that Stella had been carrying around for the past four months, and how much they pained her. Tightening his hold on her hands, he lifted them out of the water before turning her around. She kept her gaze locked on his throat, and Flack took her face in his hands until her eyes met his.

"And you want to know if we're more than just lovers?" he asked gently.

"I know how I feel," she whispered. "But -"

"I'm all in this, Stell," he said firmly. "You drive me crazy in the best possible way, and I don't wanna imagine my life without you. You're not just my girlfriend, or my lover - you're my best friend. And that is somethin' NONE of the others have been." He smiled, brushing back her hair, marveling at how long it had gotten. "You're so much more than them, Stell."

Kissing her softly, Don pulled her close, trying to convince her with his actions that there was nowhere else he'd rather be, no one else he'd rather be with. Stella wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, sighing at the taste of him, and realizing that she was completely and utterly lost. When they pulled back, she rested her face in the crook of his neck, soaking in his warmth.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have let it get to me."

"You got nothin' to apologize for, Stell. Devon was the bitch." He paused, smiling. "I'm sorry I dated such awful women."

Stella laughed. "I was hoping you'd say that. Because some of them were really bad, Don."

He kissed her forehead and looked down at her. "But now I got you," he murmured.

She smiled, kissing him again. "Definitely a step up," she whispered.


End file.
